Poultry Carcass Freezing for Accurate Meat Cutting
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for automatically cutting poultry or fowl carcasses into smaller meat products face challenges in maintaining structural integrity, leading to inaccurate cuts and increased manual labor, especially with overhead conveyor systems that suspend carcasses in an inverted position.
Innovation Solution
A method involving conveying eviscerated carcasses through a freezing unit to maintain or reestablish structural integrity, followed by precise cutting at a cutting station, including steps like removing extremities, pre-cutting breasts, and splitting carcasses into multiple pieces using a combination of cutting stations and conveyors.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If carcasses are conveyed through multiple cutting steps without freezing, then processing time is reduced and productivity is improved, but structural integrity of the carcass deteriorates leading to inaccurate cuts
Solution Approach 1:
The carcass is frozen before the cutting process begins. This preliminary freezing action maintains structural integrity throughout subsequent cutting operations, enabling accurate cuts while preserving productivity. The freezing is performed upstream of the cutting station, so when cutting occurs, the carcass is already in a stable frozen state.
Solution Approach 2:
The physical state of the carcass is changed from thawed to frozen by lowering the temperature. This parameter change (temperature reduction) fundamentally alters the mechanical properties of the carcass, making it rigid and stable during cutting operations, thereby achieving both high productivity and high cutting accuracy.
2Manufacturing precision
If the carcass is frozen before cutting, then cutting accuracy and structural integrity are improved, but additional freezing time and energy consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
Freezing is performed as a preliminary step before cutting, but the carcass is only frozen to the extent necessary for cutting accuracy, not completely frozen solid. This partial freezing approach maintains structural integrity during cutting while minimizing the time and energy required compared to complete freezing.
Solution Approach 2:
The freezing process is applied selectively to the portions of the carcass that will be cut, rather than freezing the entire carcass uniformly. This localized approach ensures cutting accuracy is improved where needed while reducing overall freezing time and energy consumption in areas that don't require freezing for cutting stability.
3Productivity
If extremities like tail and wing tips are removed before freezing, then waste is reduced and processing efficiency is improved, but additional handling steps increase device complexity
Solution Approach 1:
Extremities such as tail and wing tips are removed in preliminary cutting steps before the main freezing and cutting process. This preliminary removal of non-meat portions simplifies the subsequent freezing and cutting operations by reducing the overall size and complexity of the carcass, thereby improving processing efficiency without significantly increasing device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The removal of extremities is broken down into separate, simple cutting stations (tail cutter, wing tip cutter) that perform discrete functions. This segmentation allows each station to be simple and efficient, handling one specific removal task, rather than requiring a single complex station to handle all operations.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables the production of up to 25 distinct meat products with accurate cuts, reducing manual labor and improving efficiency by maintaining carcass integrity throughout the cutting process.
Implementation Method 1
conveying at least one previously eviscerated individual carcass through a freezing unit and allowing at least a portion of the at least one carcass to become frozen
Data Source
AI summary
Meat processing method and apparatus for automatically cutting individual poultry or fowl carcasses into various meat products, including conveying at least one previously eviscerated individual carcass along a path of conveyance and through a freezing unit arranged for allowing at least a portion of the at least one carcass to become frozen and conveying the at least one carcass, upon its exit from the freezing unit, to a cutting station downstream of the freezing unit for performing at least one partial cut through a frozen portion of the at least one carcass.